Robin Gibb beats 'incredible odds' to recover from coma

BEE GEES star Robin Gibb has "confounded" his doctors by recovering from a coma after his wife Dwina had been told that he had just days to live.

Gibb (pictured here in 2011), who had been undergoing treatment for liver and colon cancer, fell into a coma last week after contracting pneumonia, the BBC reports. He was having trouble breathing and was put on a ventilator. Dr Andrew Thillainayagam said: “The prognosis was very grave. We felt it was very likely Robin would succumb to what seemed to be insurmountable obstacles.”

Doctors say they were "confounded" by Gibb’s recovery. The 62-year-old is now conscious, lucid and talking to his friends and family. Although exhausted and malnourished, he is now breathing on his own with an oxygen mask and recovering at The London Clinic in central London.

The Guardian reports that the singer made remarkable progress over the weekend. "It is testament to Robin's extraordinary courage, iron will and deep reserves of physical strength that he has overcome quite incredible odds to get where he is now," Dr Thillainayagam said.

Gibb's wife and children have been at his bedside, and brother Barry has been singing to him. His wife revealed that Robin had wept when he was played the Roy Orbison song Crying.

Gibb was diagnosed with cancer 18 months ago during an unrelated bowel operation. His twin brother, Maurice, died of a twisted intestine in 2003.

The Bee Gees were formed by brothers Robin, Barry and Maurice Gibb in 1958, and have sold over 220 million records worldwide. First called The Rattlesnakes and later Wee Johnny Hayes and the Bluecats the brothers began their careers in Australia, having moved there from Manchester.

When The Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 it was noted that only Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Garth Brooks had sold more records than the three brothers.